In Meditations 74 we saw that for a church to love our triune God wholeheartedly, means to obey His Word [the Bible] unconditionally.
The Gospel-writer Luke tells in his book of Acts about the first followers of Jesus. He writes about them that “they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching...” (Acts 2:42). As we saw already in Meditation 66, the Greek word that Luke uses here for devotion indicates a single-minded, firm determination of the will.
Luke shows us that Jesus’ first followers gave a constant and unabated attention to the study of God’s Word. The apostles explained the Old Testament to them in the light of Christ’s life, death and resurrection.
This persistent devotion to the apostles’ teaching allowed God's Spirit to work powerfully in their midst. This Spirit-driven zeal to study God’s Word was a response to Jesus’ declaration: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Furthermore, Luke writes three times about their commitment to be together when sharing God's Word:
-- “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.”(Acts 2:46)
-- “All the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade.” (Acts 5:12)
-- “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5:42)
Indeed, it was the Spirit of God who caused God’s people to fall in love with God and His Word.
Luke regards the Jews in Berea (Greece) highly for their adherence to biblical truth: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures [Old Testament] every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
The apostle Paul praises the church in Corinth for their love for God’s Word: “I praise you for ... holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.” (1 Corinthians 11:2)
Four chapters later, Paul cautions this church to continue building their community on the foundation of God’s Word: “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
The apostle Paul reminds the church in Ephesus of the fact that any community of Jesus’ followers is based on the Holy Scriptures: “We are his [God’s] house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.” (Ephesians 2:20)
Paul urges the Christian community in Philippi to keep close to God’s Word and to live according to it in the midst of an immoral society: “You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them. Hold tightly to the Word of life...” (Philippians 2:15b-16a)
Like all the other churches, Paul warns the church in Colosse to remain dedicated to God’s Word: “You must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.” (Colossians 1:23)
Paul encourages the Christian community in Thessalonica to intensify their dedication to God’s Word: “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)
In Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica he warns them for all kinds of deceptions and urges them, saying: “With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and by letter.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
The apostle Peter encourages the followers of Jesus in what is now Turkey to remain committed to God’s Word: “You must crave pure spiritual milk [the Bible] so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk...” (1 Peter 2:2)
We could endlessly continue to quote Bible verses from the Old and New Testament that testify to the need of any local church wherever to stay close to God’s Word. It is one of the deepest expressions of a church’s love for our triune God when it is devoted to studying and obeying His holy Word.
The apostle Paul writes to his co-worker Timothy about the effect God’s Word can have in individual lives as well as in the life of an entire church community: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
The author of the “Epistle to the Hebrews” shows how God’s Spirit intends to use God’s Word for the transformation of our lives and our communities into the likeness of Jesus Christ: “The Word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done.”
(Hebrews 4:12-13)
In the light of all we have seen in Meditation 74 and 75, we are more than astounded when we hear that so many individual Christians and entire churches worldwide hardly know God’s Word [the Bible].
Since the last Meditations have specially focussed on the church, we are left with some heart-searching questions:
-- How can a church say that it loves God without being devoted to studying and obeying His Word?
-- How can a church know what pleases God if it doesn’t know His Word?
-- How can a church serve God if it doesn’t know His Will, revealed in His Word?
-- How can God’s Spirit transform a church in the likeness of Christ if it doesn’t know and obey God’s Word?
-- How can a church be “the light of the world” in our modern society if it doesn’t live according to God’s Word?
Ephesians 2:20, Philippians 2:15b-16a, 2 Thessalonians 2:15,
1 Peter 2:2, Hebrews 4:12-13 are quotes from the New Living Translation. All other texts are quoted from the New International Version.
